Stacey held her takeout coffee cup in one hand, folders in the other, and backed through the door to Murphy Realty, teeth clamped on the slice of banana bread in her mouth, already feeling overwhelmed by the day. She set the folder and coffee on the reception desk – as the newest realtor, she filled in for Bree whenever she was out – slid her purse underneath, then set down the concertina file from under her arm, grabbed a Kleenex from a nearby box, laid it on the desk and placed the banana bread down.

She sighed and flopped into her chair. What a morning. First she’d had breakfast with Jax, showered and dressed before realizing she couldn’t find her car keys. A lengthy search ensued, during which she lost track of her purse. Once purse and keys were both located, she recalled the files she’d brought home to study the previous evening – but hadn’t – and spent another thirty minutes frantically reading those before heading for the office.

On her way to the office she was caught in perhaps the first traffic jam in Ardensville history – a deer got hitched on a ivy-covered fence it had failed to leap over sometime during the night. It was stuck, straddling the fence and hedgerow beside it. What with the police, Animal Control and all the rubberneckers, she ended up reaching the office fifteen minutes late. And she had a new client – her first official listing – she was learning everything she could about the neighborhood, local laws, sale prices in the area and anything else she could think of that might impact a potential sale.

The office was eerily quiet.

Stacey looked around – only Susannah was there, but she was pointedly not looking in her direction. What was going on? She got another Kleenex, wiped her mouth and nose, checked her clothes. Nothing. Then she looked at the reception area, and specifically the table where they kept magazines and newspapers for waiting clients. On top of the pile lay that morning’s News & Observer, with a large photograph. Of her.

She got up and walked over to the table for a closer look. The shot was of her and Jax, hand in hand in front of Saxon’s. In it she was. smiling nervously. Of course, the media had been there, but she’d forgotten about it – distracted by a pair of bulging biceps and sparkling blue eyes staring at her over Chinese food, no doubt. It was obvious Susannah had seen the article. She straightened and smoothed her skirt. “Good morning. Where’s Brad – have you seen him?”

Susannah shook her head, smiling tentatively. “He’s out on appointments all morning.”

“Do you know if he’s seen this article?”

Susannah sashayed toward her, blonde hair fashioned into a hair-sprayed wig. “I’d say so. He usually reads the paper before coming in. I didn’t even know you two were engaged. Congratulations, by the way.”

Stacey grinned. “Ah, we weren’t engaged. It was kind of an impulsive decision.”

“Oh?” Smug satisfaction flitted across Susannah’s heavily made-up features. “I see.”

“Nothing like that. We just fell in love and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. That’s all.” Stacey wondered if anyone would be sincerely happy about their fake news. Not that it was any of their business. She picked up the newspaper and tucked it under her arm. “I don’t think we need to leave this out for every client to read today, though,” she added as she returned to her desk.

Just as she sat, the phone rang. She shoved the newspaper into the trash can beneath her desk, then picked up the receiver. “Murphy Realty, this is Stacey.”

“If it isn’t my long lost daughter.”

Stacey rolled her eyes and sunk deeper in her chair. This morning just kept getting worse. “Hey, Momma.”

“You never call, you never write …” Momma laughed, then fell into a hacking cough.

She waited for the coughing to subside. “Are you okay, Momma?”

“I’m fine. But how about you? I heard you have some news to tell, though Heaven knows you ain’t bothered to call your own mother to tell me. I carried you inside my body for nine whole months, pushed you out … and let me tell you, you about killed me with that big ol’ head of yours! Still, I understand you’re busy …”

Stacey squeezed her eyes shut. She should’ve known this call was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with. “I’m sorry, Momma. It’s just everything happened so quickly.”

“Uh-huh. Sure, I understand. A rich man comes to town, you’ve got to do your darnedest to land him ‘fore he leaves again. Makes perfect sense and the good Lord knows I ain’t gonna turn a man’s head no more. But I’d at least thought you’d come by and introduce me to him ‘fore you tied the knot.”

“Sorry.” Perhaps she should just tell her the truth … no. She knew Momma well enough to know that the moment she hung up the phone, any family secrets would be sold to the highest bidder.

“It’s been months since you visited.”

“I was there a few weeks ago. Remember, you had the plumbing problem and I helped you find a repair guy?”

“Feels like months,” Momma grumbled. “And you never check up on me to see if I’m okay. What if that plumber strangled me and left me for dead in my own doublewide? I don’t know what I ever did to deserve to be so lonesome in my old age. I guess I somehow raised two of the most ungrateful children on God’s green earth, though you didn’t get that from me. That’s all from your daddy’s side of the family — they were ungrateful, the lot of them, all out for what they could get.” Momma moaned into the phone. “It’s just my lot in life, I guess.”

Stacey rolled her eyes. She’d heard it all before. Momma loved to serve a good dose of guilt with her love, as though it were a lip-smacking side dish.

“You’re not old, Momma.” A well-placed compliment usually managed to slow down her pity party.

“I feel old.”

“Maybe you should get out of the house. Take a walk, get some fresh air.”

“Fresh air, my bony behind! It’s frigid out there. What’re you trying to do, get me killed?”

“Yes, momma. That’s been my plan all along to kill you off by sending you out for air.” Stacey was losing patience. The best way to deal with her mother was to stay cool, clear-headed and not get sucked into the drama she craved.

Stacey took a deep breath to calm her nerves and keep her voice neutral. “Momma, you know full well why we don’t visit often. You drink too much. The place smells like a cigarette factory. You always have men in and out of there. That last one before Cliff tried to push me around and you didn’t say a word. Ever since Daddy died, you’ve acted as though you’re trying to join him with the smoking, drinking and all the men. I’d be happy to meet you at a diner for breakfast or lunch, but I don’t want to come over.”

“Cliff’s different,” she harrumphed.

Stacey sighed. “Maybe so. I hope he is, for your sake.”

“And since you’re loaded now, maybe you could find your ol’ momma a place to live that ain’t so nasty. You’d visit me if I had a nice little cottage close by, wouldn’t you?” Momma’s voice had a wheedling tone now – she could hear her thin-lipped smile.

“I’m not loaded, Momma.”

“Sure you are. I know you married Jax Green, the football star. That means you’re rich. And you always promised me if you ever had the money you’d take care of me. I ain’t sheen nothin’ of that promise yet.”

Stacey frowned. “We just got married. I can’t ask him to do that.”

“Well, I can see where your priorities are, girl. You don’t care about family, never did.”

The phone fell silent. Stacey set the receiver back in the cradle, her heart pounding. No matter how many times she told herself not to let Momma get to her, she couldn’t seem to help it. Being reminded of the promise she’d made as a small frightened girl did nothing to help. At the time, she and Momma had been hiding in a cabinet in the trailer from her mother’s latest boyfriend as he threw things around the house and yelled about what he’d do to them when he found them.

Stacey had wanted to help Momma, but now she knew better. Momma didn’t want help. She couldn’t live without those men, just the same way she clung to the cigarettes and alcohol that daily stole her health. She wouldn’t give them up, no matter what Stacey said or did.

Stacey dropped her head into her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, her heart heavy. No matter how much you wanted it for them, some people just wouldn’t change.

Stacey’s car spluttered up the driveway past the furniture truck, its back doors flung wide open. A ramp clung to the lip of the door frame. She clicked the remote Jax had given her and the wide garage door hummed upward. She pulled her car into the garage, noting the contrast between her old Corolla with its dull paint and stained interior and the immaculate and spacious garage. Not to mention the brand new Ram truck she parked next to.

She shook her head. How long would Jax put up with her being here? He’d get sick of their ruse soon enough and send her packing. She shouldn’t grow accustomed to living here – she sure didn’t belong. But it was a nice gig while it lasted.

Inside, she found Jax on top of a ladder, hanging framed awards on one wall of the den. “Hey,” he called down to her with a smile.

She banished her dark thoughts and forced a smile. “Hey yourself.”

“Everything okay?” He climbed down the ladder, still grinning.

Just the sight of him made things seem a little better. The world a little brighter. “Yeah.”

He arched an eyebrow. “That wasn’t very convincing.”

“Nothing gets past you, huh?” She shrugged, walked into the living room and flung herself down on one of the new leather couches. “This looks great,” she marveled, glancing around the room. The couches, a dark brown La-Z-Boy and the hardwood coffee table and end tables all complemented each other nicely. Lamps, a large natural-fiber floor rug and a few other knickknacks she’d selected at the furniture store completed the stylish yet casual feel. She couldn’t help a surge of pride.

“It looks fantastic! I love it. I should have you buy all my furniture and stuff, even for my apartment in Atlanta. Especially for there – it’s so … sterile. But this feels like home already. You did good kid.”

Her cheeks flushed. “You’re welcome.”

He lowered himself onto the arm of the couch beside her and tapped her leg. “So what’s going on? You look a bit down.”

She leaned back on the couch and found his gaze on her, intent and compassionate. “Momma called. It was as pleasant an experience as usual.”

He frowned. “She hasn’t changed, huh?”

“Nope. If anything, she’s gotten worse. She’s drinking more than ever. And the boyfriends are just as bad as they’ve always been.”

Jax shook his head. “I’m so sorry.”

“Whatever. She is who she is and I can’t do anything about it.” Nonetheless, anger surged through her. She was sick of having to deal with her drama, sick of talking about her.

“That’s true, you can’t change her.”

“You’re gonna say that I have to love her, though. Right?” Her stomach turned at the thought.

“No, I wasn’t.”

She sighed. “Deep down, I do love her. Very deep.” She chuckled in an attempt to ease the tension. “But it’s just so hard for me to feel that love – mostly I feel fear, regret, anger and helplessness when I speak to her. It’s like I’m a kid all over again and all I want to do is get away. Like Brad used to. No … more like I want to get away and take her with me – pull her away from all her bad habits, from the trailer park, from …” She threw her hands in the air in frustration.

“But you can’t.”

“But I can’t. That’s what I learned when I finally grew up and faced the truth – she’d bring her issues with her. We both would.”

He nodded and took her hand, winding his fingers through hers. His touch comforted and excited her at the same time. What did it mean?

“I know you love her, but we build walls around our heart when people hurt us. And those walls stop us from feeling that love, so sometimes we forget it’s there.”

She inhaled slowly. “That sounds about right.”

“I learned it from Dad. He worked a lot of people through inner healing, and sometimes I helped. It was amazing to see how God could bring those walls down, help people reconnect with their true feelings for God and others.”

She nodded, her mind whirling. Did she really want to reconnect with her true feelings for Momma? Maybe, but she didn’t feel ready to address that yet. Maybe down the road. “I didn’t know you did that.”

“Yeah, here and there. During high school and between semesters in college. And right after the Bills cut me but before I went to work for the cruise line.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“I kept a pretty low profile.”

“Did Brad know? About the last one.”

“Yeah, we hung out a bit then. But that was around the time of his trip to Charleston. Do you remember that?”

She laughed. “Oh yeah. Tracey Long. Ugh.”

“He was gone for a few months. Didn’t he want to marry her?”

“He did. It broke his heart when she ran off with that restaurateur or whatever he was.”

Jax sighed, then his face brightened. “Speaking of restaurants, I’m going out to eat tonight. Why don’t you come with me? It might help take your mind off things.”

“Really? Even with all the attention you get, I don’t know if I’m up for it. I think I’ll have a quiet night at home – just me, my self-pity and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.”

He chuckled. “No, you’ve got to come with me. It won’t be like that, I promise.”

Stacey frowned, wondering how he’d prevent the entire town from ogling him if he went out at night. “Fine, I’ll come. But if there’s a stampede, I’ll be holding you accountable.”

Jax laughed, then winked. “Trust me.”